Beer Float

Don’t write this off until you’ve tried it. A beer float is exactly what it sounds like: a scoop or two of chocolate ice cream in a tall glass, slowly topped with beer. The foam doubles when the cold beer hits the ice cream, the ice cream slowly melts into the beer below, and you end up with something between a milkshake and a craft beer cocktail.

The beer choice matters more than the ice cream. A chocolate stout, porter, or imperial stout works best because the roasted malt notes already taste a bit like chocolate, and the dark body holds up against the sweetness of the ice cream. Light lagers can work too but the chocolate notes get washed out.

The technique in the directions is the only thing to get right: pour slowly down the side of the glass to prevent a foam explosion. Beer poured straight onto ice cream creates an instant volcano of foam that ends up on the counter instead of in your glass.

Pro Tips

• Chill the glass first. A frosted glass keeps the beer cold and the ice cream from melting too fast.
• Use a chilled beer, not warm. Warm beer foams aggressively and the ice cream melts immediately.
• Tilt the glass and pour the beer down the side, slowly. Treat it like pouring a Guinness; slow and steady is the only way.
• Drink through a straw as the directions suggest, or eat the foam off with a spoon. Either way, it’s meant to be consumed slowly.

Variations

• Use vanilla ice cream and a hefeweizen for a banana-cream-pie kind of float.
• Try a chocolate raspberry beer (or a fruit lambic) with vanilla ice cream for a fruit-and-chocolate combination.
• Add a drizzle of chocolate syrup or a splash of espresso for an even more dessert-leaning version.